Hello! Anyone out there loves a delicious Sweet Bread Roll, made All By Hand? Yup, no Kitchen Aid, whisk or bread machine. And absolutely no kneading required.

This Sweet Bread Roll is soft and fluffy with a well structured crumb. And it tastes heavenly, lavished with yummy honey butter. Try it – it’s simple and delicious. 

A very well-structured crumb!

The dough uses basic ingredients – all purpose flour, yeast, milk, egg, oil, sugar and salt.

Once the yeast mixture is bloomed, everything is mixed by hand and the magic ingredients are simply TIME and Honey Butter, period.

Sweet bread dough, proudly risen …

The bread dough is given time to rest and as the yeast works its magic on the dough, it will rise majestically to double in size.

And Honey Butter is the other magic ingredient which gives this Sweet Bread Roll its delicate sweet crumb. The golden spread gives shine and just the right sweetness to make this Sweet Bread Roll a real winner!

Yummy honey butter, don’t skip it!

I made this Sweet Bread Roll frequently during Daughter No. 2’s primary school leaving exams – boy, was that a stressful year for this SugarCrumble mama 🙄

There is something wonderfully therapeutic about working with fingers and rolling out soft dough, then seeing them transform into delectable little yummy buns when baked.

Freshly baked rolls, smells heavenly!

And the kitchen simply smells amazing, filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread. I only started baking then and didn’t have any Kitchen Aid or super duper bread machine which almost most breads required in order to knead and achieve that stretchy dough.

The satisfaction of being able to make this delicious Sweet Bread Roll so easily without any heavy duty equipment just made me fall in love with this recipe!  

Lavished with yummy honey butter …

I was reminded of this wonderful Sweet Bread Roll when it was recently requested by the little one, “Mum, do you remember those sweet dinner rolls, you haven’t made them in a while …”.

And so here it is, memory lane revisited and with great pleasure 😊

Check out my Sweet Bread Roll video below.

What to take note of …

• Make sure the yeast is fresh! I have ever made the mistake of using yeast that has been sitting in the larder for a while and it was a fail from the get go. If the yeast mixture does not bloom vigorously and become big and foamy after 5 to 10 minutes, chuck it. This means the yeast is stale and won’t be able to work through the dough. Get fresh yeast and start again. 

Big and foamy …

• For greater flavour, I prefer to use proportionally less yeast and let the dough proof for a longer time to achieve the same rise. The bread has less of that yeasty taste and a longer and slower proof also create a more flavorful bread IMHO. This Sweet Bread Roll uses only 1 1/2 tsp yeast to 4 cups flour, ratio is about slightly more than 1:4.

• I used Levure Seche de Boulanger dry baker’s yeast which comes packed in 7g satchels. If you don’t bake bread frequently, instead of buying a full bottle of yeast, these are perfect for storing and keeping yeast fresh and can be used a satchel at a time. One 7g satchel will yield two batches of this Sweet Bread Roll recipe.

• Do not use cold ingredients. Yeast needs warmth to ferment and bloom. Simple science here … yeast are single-celled fungi and like most single-cell organisms, they are more active when it is warm. Cold ingredients tend to delay or disrupt the blooming or priming of yeast. For this Sweet Bread Roll, I used warm water (~110°F or 43°C) for the yeast mixture, warm milk for the dough and eggs @room temperature. I usually don’t bother with a thermometer and just test the water/milk on the back of my hand. If it doesn’t have the bite of hot water, it should be suitably warm for the yeast.

• Patience, patience, patience … the bread dough needs time to rest in a warm draft free place to proof. Proofing is the process in which bread dough is left to rest and ferment. During this process, the yeast is activated and works through the dough to take on its final rise before being baked. This Sweet Bread Roll dough takes ~ 1.5 to 2 hour for the 1st rise and ~ another 1 hour for the 2nd rise after the dough is sectioned and rolled into little buns. Be patient, it will be worth it.

Double in size after 2 hours

• Be careful not to overproof! Proofing is an essential part of baking bread; however what is equally important is to ensure that the bread is not overproofed i.e. it is proofed too much that the gluten structure that has been formed starts to separate and the dough eventually collapses! So watch the timing, don’t over-plan to do too many things during this ‘break’ and check on your dough! I have overproofed before and I had to re-work the dough and start the proofing all over again 🙄 

Structure has started to collapse 

• Storage – This Sweet Bread Roll is without preservative and tastes best on the day of baking or just the day after. Beyond that, it can be stored in the fridge for another 2-3 days. Simply heat it up before serving. I find that warming it in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds actually works best, as the Sweet Bread Roll still keeps its softness and texture. Heating it in the oven may warm the outside but the inner crumb is cold. Then again, increasing oven time to warm the whole roll makes the bread harder and more crusty.

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a review. Or take a photo and share it on Instagram or FB; be sure to tag me please @thesugarcrumble. 

Print Recipe

Sweet Bread Roll

Calling all bread lovers out there! This is a delicious Sweet Bread Roll, made ALL BY HAND. And no kneading required. The Sweet Bread Roll is soft and fluffy with a well structured crumb. Just melt-in-your-mouth goodness, glazed with yummy honey butter. Simple and delicious.

Level of difficulty: Easy!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Proofing time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Keyword: Sweet bread, dinner roll, no-knead bread

Servings: 32 rolls

Author: Kai

Ingredients

Yeast mixture

• 1/3 cup very warm water
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Wet ingredients

• Yeast mixture
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/3 cup warm milk
• 1 egg @room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup oil

Dry ingredient

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

Honey butter

• 50 g unsalted butter (softened)
• 3 tbsp honey

Instructions

• Add yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar with the warm water and mix well. Let the yeast bloom for 5 to 10 minutes until big and foamy.
• Once the yeast has properly bloomed, in a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well.
• Gradually add in the all-purpose flour with a whisk. Switch to a spatula to scrape down the sides and mix well until you get a nice sticky dough.
• Transfer the dough to a well greased bowl. Cover with cling wrap and place in a warm, draft free place until it doubles in size. This is the first rise and will take ~ 1.5 to 2 hours.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, grease knuckles and gently punch down the dough to release air.
• Transfer the dough to a well floured work surface and gently form a dough rectangle. The dough will be sticky so add just enough flour to handle the dough without it sticking to your hands.
• Divide the dough into two equal dough balls. Each half will make ~16 rolls. Using a well floured rolling pin, gently roll out each dough ball into a ~ 12 inch circle.
• Brush each dough circle generously with 1/3 of the honey butter. Then using a pizza cutter, slice the circle into small wedges (check out the video @3:45minute to see how I did it).
• Flour fingers well and roll up each wedge starting from the wide side. Place the rolled wedge on a baking tin with the pointed tip tucked under.
• Cover again and let the rolls rest in a warm place for the second rise ~ 1 hour. The rolls will double in size and are ready to bake.
• Pre-heat oven to 375F or 180C. Bake at the middle rack for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and lavish the hot rolls generously with the remaining honey butter. Let the buns cool for 15 - 20 minutes. Enjoy 😊

Video

Notes

• Make sure the yeast is fresh! I have ever made the mistake of using yeast that has been sitting in the larder for a while and it was a fail from the get go. If the yeast mixture does not bloom vigorously and become big and foamy after 5 to 10 minutes, chuck it. This means the yeast is stale and won’t be able to work through the dough. Get fresh yeast and start again. 

 

• For greater flavour, I prefer to use proportionally less yeast and let the dough proof for a longer time to achieve the same rise. The bread has less of that yeasty taste and a longer and slower proof also create a more flavorful bread IMHO. This Sweet Bread Roll uses only 1 1/2 tsp yeast to 4 cups flour, ratio is about slightly more than 1:4.

 

• I used Levure Seche de Boulanger dry baker's yeast which comes packed in 7g satchels. If you don’t bake bread frequently, instead of buying a full bottle of yeast, these are perfect for storing and keeping yeast fresh and can be used a satchel at a time. One 7g satchel will yield two batches of this Sweet Bread Roll recipe.

 

• Do not use cold ingredients. Yeast needs warmth to ferment and bloom. Simple science here ... yeast are single-celled fungi and like most single-cell organisms, they are more active when it is warm. Cold ingredients tend to delay or disrupt the blooming or priming of yeast. For this Sweet Bread Roll, I used warm water (~110°F or 43°C) for the yeast mixture, warm milk for the dough and eggs @room temperature. I usually don't bother with a thermometer and just test the water/milk on the back of my hand. If it doesn't have the bite of hot water, it should be suitably warm for the yeast.

 

• Patience, patience, patience ... the bread dough needs time to rest in a warm draft free place to proof. Proofing is the process in which bread dough is left to rest and ferment. During this process, the yeast is activated and works through the dough to take on its final rise before being baked. This Sweet Bread Roll dough takes ~ 1.5 to 2 hour for the 1st rise and ~ another 1 hour for the 2nd rise after the dough is sectioned and rolled into little buns. Be patient, it will be worth it.

 

• Be careful not to overproof! Proofing is an essential part of baking bread; however what is equally important is to ensure that the bread is not overproofed i.e. it is proofed too much that the gluten structure that has been formed starts to separate and the dough eventually collapses! So watch the timing, don't over-plan to do too many things during this 'break' and check on your dough! I have overproofed before and I had to re-work the dough and start the proofing all over again 🙄 

 

• Storage - This Sweet Bread Roll is without preservative and tastes best on the day of baking or just the day after. Beyond that, it can be stored in the fridge for another 2-3 days. Simply heat it up before serving. I find that warming it in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds actually works best, as the Sweet Bread Roll still keeps its softness and texture. Heating it in the oven may warm the outside but the inner crumb is cold. Then again, increasing oven time to warm the whole roll makes the bread harder and more crusty.